Remembering the Nolstar Dotterel twitch.

 A very wet and windy morning with very little on the move other than a few Redwings fast and low over Foxhill. Looking through some old photos I came across the Dotterel twitch at Nolstar with 2 male and 1 female staying two days back on 1st and 2nd of May 2017, and not yet to have been repeated. The last in my area being 27/4/2008 when I turned one up on Soil Hill. 

                                            I used to get them annually in May when I did a pilgrimage over Ilkley moor to the 12 apostle stones which rarely failed to produce good numbers spread about in the bare patches among the heather. Pendle Hill is still a hotspot for them but again a long trek if you get there to find nothing.

                                   Always some distant away.

                                  Well camouflaged

                                  The twitch is on.

                                  DW using the new Leica invisible bins.

        Photos BS

East wind brings fog.

 A terrible morning with the light wind back to the >SE bringing in the dense fog which lasted until early afternoon. From then we were sat 4 hours in a waiting room at the hospital with Lyndas eye appointment so a double dip on the birding scene today and not looking brilliant for tomorrow with rain and a strong south wind.

                With the vis mig season drawing to a close we have to look forward to November which last year produced good numbers of local wildfowl with Wigeon, Pochard, Teal, Goldeneye and Goosander as well as a few skeins of Pink Footed Geese and a low count of Whooper Swans.

                Passerine numbers increased and were now easier to locate with no leaves on the trees with several, now established, Fieldfare and Redwing around the berry trees whilst large flocks of Goldcrest, Tits, Redpoll and Siskin built up, along with Treecreepers and the usual woodland species.

                November brings large numbers of gulls to the fields and reservoir roosts which need checking through for Yellow Legged Herring, Mediterranean, Iceland, Glaucous and Caspian plus if we,re extremely lucky, Franklins and Ring Billed. Also flocks of geese can have specials hidden among them such as White Fronted, Bean and Brent so don,t despair, there,s always plenty to search for.

BS

                 

Woodpigs, the move continues.

 

FOXHILL                                  Nice red Queensbury sunrise

                                  Vis Mig sky

                                  Dark clouds to the west

                                   Woodpigeons on the move again

                                    Flying in the sun

                                    Some Fieldfare and Redwing

                                  Woodpigs

                                  Rain approaching from the west

                                  Woodies in the dark sky.

OGDEN                    Gulls on the disappearing peninsular

                                 A good selection but no Herring

                                 Intermedius LBB in water.

                                  LBB intermedius left     2 LBB graellsii  right

                                    intermedius

A bright sunny start to the morning with a S>4 inc SW>5 mid morn at 11 degrees. Very dark sky and cloud to the west. By 0945 hrs the dark skies had taken over, bringing full cloud.

                The Woodpigeon move from yesterday continued over Foxhill this morning but once again mostly moving to the east of me keeping in the bright skies. Numbers were much lower than yesterday but the move continued through the morning slowing down to a trickle as the clouds arrived.

                  Fieldfare, Redwing, Chaffinch were moving through but again in smaller counts whilst a small close knit group of Siskin came over, dropping briefly in the park trees, before heading off on their way.

               With the car mobile again now I headed to Ogden to check the gull situation mid afternoon to find a decent number of gulls but no Herring gulls at all. Pick of the crop was an intermedius Lesser Black Backed gull. Plenty Chaffinch were present but no Brambling and no sign of the tit flock although I only checked the west bank.

Vis Mig

1860 Woodpigs.............>SW

262 Fieldfare................>SW

185 Redwing............... >SW

39 Chaffinch................>SW

11 Siskin......................>SW

Ogden

c 100 BH gull

c 80 Common gull

c 30 LBB gull

1 intermedius LBB gull

BS

             

                        

The Big One, Woodpigeons !!!

 

                                   First light sunrise

                                  Typical vis mig start to the day

                                  Common gulls on Foxhill

                                    Woodpigeons start trickling through

                                    Flood gates open, here they come, start of a massive move.

                                   Redwings                                                                                                                                 

                                    Redwing

                                  Woodpigs piling through

                                  Later from home, still pouring through

                                  By 1100 hrs moving more to the east of me.

A nice bright sunrise over Queensbury with a light SW>3 at 10 degrees with clear blue skies until low scud clouds started moving through from the foggy west but not blocking visibility.

                    The big move for Woodpigeons was on today with birds piling through on a broad front from first light until after midday when they still came but to the far east of me. An early afternoon visit to the Dailie Fields found several flocks of Woodpigeons moving >SW but well to the east over the Aire Valley. This shows up with Martyn Priestleys count of over 11,600 at his Low Moor site, Bradford.

          A typical near end of season morning with a variety of species but most being late stragglers apart from Starlings, which, like the Woodpigs, are late movers, with several small squadrons moving through in migration mode, fast and direct.

         A single Golden Plover >N was unusual for this location whilst several Chaffinch came through but no Brambling as yet.

Vis Mig

250 Starling.................>NW

37 Mipits.....................>S

5 Blackbird.................>S       15 present

4 Mistle Thrush..........>SW

1 Golden Plover.........>NE

33 Chaffinch.............>SW

272 Fieldfare.............>SW

185 Redwing............>SW

3,845 Woodpigeon...>SW .......... with lots uncounted to the east over Bradford.

BS